From 1928, when it opened as the West Coast Oakland theater (planned original name: The Bagdad), until it slid toward "final" closure in 1970, the Fox Theater was one of downtown Oakland's two classic movie palaces (See the Paramount Theatre as well). Nearly demolished to make space for a parking lot in 1975, it was declared a city landmark in 1978 and put on the National Register of Historic Places the following year. Finally, after more than a decade of planning and restoration, the Fox reopened in February 2009, and is now a live concert venue (mostly modern rock) with a restaurant and bar, and the Oakland School for the Arts upstairs. The Uptown neighborhood around the theater is now one of Oakland's liveliest for dining anc cocktails.